Single Idea 23656

[catalogued under 18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 8. Human Thought]

Full Idea

What is common in the structure of languages, indicates an uniformity of opinion in those things upon which that structure is grounded.

Gist of Idea

The structure of languages reveals a uniformity in basic human opinions

Source

Thomas Reid (Essays on Intellectual Powers 6: Judgement [1785], 4)

Book Reference

Reid,Thomas: 'Inquiry and Essays', ed/tr. Beanblossom /K.Lehrer [Hackett 1983], p.265


A Reaction

Reid was more interested than his contemporaries in the role of language in philosophy. The first idea sounds like Chomsky. I would add to this that the uniformity of common opinion reflects uniformities in the world they are talking about.